The Road to Savings

Your commercial auto clients are likely a diverse group — from large fleets of delivery trucks to accounts with smaller numbers of local service vans — but they all share the potentially devastating human and financial impact of accidents.

And this creates an opportunity for you. You’re in the business of helping companies identify and mitigate the risks they face every day. You’re concerned with getting your clients effective coverage at a fair price, protecting their assets and lowering their total cost of risk over time. And there is no better way of delivering these goals than by helping your clients update their commercial auto programs based on the best practices of the safest companies.

Here are those best practices that can help you help your clients control commercial auto insurance costs.

Do as I Say and as I Do

Clear, and most importantly, consistent, management support for safety is critical to building a culture that responsible drivers welcome and underwriters recognize as likely to lower total cost of risk by reducing claim volume and loss amount. Your client’s management should take every opportunity to speak about the importance of safety. But their everyday actions and decisions must always underscore — and never undercut — that commitment.

Based on this management support, your client should develop written policies detailing expectations, responsibilities and consequences. Safety should be at the heart of all company policies, rather than the topic of a handful of rules and guidelines. Remember, the goal is for your client to build a culture of safety throughout their company, rather than a rarely used safety binder that gathers dust on a shelf.

Hire the Best Drivers and Constantly Train Them

There are three keys to choosing the best drivers. First, your commercial auto clients should set standards for selecting drivers and diligently keep to those guidelines. One of the most important standards involves the minimally acceptable driving record. Those companies with the fewest accidents tend to have drivers who have had no moving violations in the past three years. They also have very high percentages of drivers with completely clean driving records.

Second, be sure your clients get the motor vehicle records from all states where a potential driver may have worked, both during the initial hiring process — and if hired — once a year, perhaps as part of the annual review process.

Finally, know whether your clients give potential drivers a written and in-vehicle road test. They should. In fact, your clients should give these tests to all drivers annually.

As critical as driver selection is in preventing accidents, it is only the start. Once a client has selected qualified drivers, now is the time to mold them to the company’s safety system. Look at the initial orientation and ongoing training your client provides its drivers. Does it cover the right content? Is it integrated with the annual performance review process, so there is a clear financial consequence?

Give Those Drivers the Right Tools

Understand the work your client does and how they select the vehicles and the safety features they buy. Long-haul trucking requires much different equipment than delivering appliances locally. Does your client buy vehicles with anti-lock brakes, air bags, and traction and stability control systems?

Once your client buys a vehicle, understand how they maintain it. They should follow the manufacturer’s specifications. Drivers should take an active role in maintenance. Every driver should inspect their vehicle before they hit the road, immediately reporting and resolving any concerns.

Some of your clients may allow employees to use their personal vehicles for company work. If so, be sure your client has written rules detailing how the company manages this. For example, the company should require each employee get their manager’s permission in writing before using a personal vehicle for work. The company should also have the right to inspect vehicles to make sure they meet their safety and maintenance standards. And, your clients should get a certificate of insurance from employees who may use their personal vehicles for company work, detailing their minimum limits of liability.

Know What Happened

Accidents happen, even at companies with a culture of safety, the best driver selection and training, and proper maintenance. So understand how your clients document their accidents to find out exactly what happened, who was injured, and the extent of that damage.

Not only does this help control the accident’s financial impact, but it also helps your client potentially prevent similar accidents — and costs — from happening again.

Good documentation is fast and detailed. And drivers must understand that the goals are to learn from the event and control the accident’s costs, rather than place blame.

Many companies have investigation kits in their vehicles and train drivers on how to document an accident. Do your commercial auto clients? A few digital photos and video comments from witnesses can go a long way in managing the accident’s financial impact.

Beyond documenting accidents, know how your clients report them to their insurance carriers. Prompt reporting allows each insurer to quickly use their claims management tools and services to better control the total cost of that accident.

Choose the Right Technology

There is a range of technology that can help companies better manage their commercial fleets, from in-vehicle cameras that monitor drivers, to GPS tracking, to devices that record vehicle speed and braking distance.

But more is not necessarily better. Understand how your commercial auto clients keep current on technology and select the systems that make sense given their operation, vehicles and drivers. And be sure they use whatever data comes from these devices to address and improve driver performance. There are three reasons for this. First, it helps save lives. Second, it helps deliver a return on investment. And third, it can possibly reduce or prevent future legal claims that your client was aware of an issue, but took no steps to resolve it.

Use these best practices to add value for your clients. Improving their safety benefits their bottom line, while protecting drivers and the public.